


Kankri and the Beast

by SedofRan



Series: Talestuck [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Beauty and the Beast, M/M, Talestuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-05-23 23:51:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 17,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6134328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SedofRan/pseuds/SedofRan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kankri, the previous "Little Red", has become bored with all of his free time now that he has passed his duties to his younger brother, Karkat. To take a break from the norm, he decides to go on a walk through the woods.<br/>Bad idea.<br/>Running from a pack of hungry wolves, Kankri finds himself at the front gates of a long abandoned castle, home to a beast with a plan to make himself human.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bored to Death

This was not at all how he planned his day to go, and yet, there he was. It had started off so plain and ordinary, just as he himself was. He woke, helped Karkat construct his basket, ate his porridge, and chose a good novel to get lost in.

Just as he had the day before. And the day before that. And the day before…

The peace was nice, for a while. For a few weeks, maybe even a month or two, he had enjoyed all of these new free time immensely. Not having to get up in the early morn, though he still did out of habit, and don the red cloak and basket with the intent of wandering through the woods until evening had almost seemed like a blessing. He was more than happy to pass his old duties down to his little brother, who, he must admit, was much better at dealing with the resident “wolfbro” than he, but now he found his days to be tedious and without purpose. All of his books had been read, thrice, and none of his friends could spare such great amounts of time to entertain him, seeing as they had their own duties to uphold.

He wondered briefly what Karkat had done all those years, waiting for him to return from the forest and relieve him of his boredom. He supposed that someone like Karkat didn’t need to be entertained much, for he seemed to greatly enjoy being by himself anyway. Kankri barely remembered when Karkat stopped waiting on the doorstep for him to return home and tell him about his day. That was a time when the boy had barely come up to his hip and would scowl at the magical cloak whenever the thought of him one day wearing it came up.

Now he was of age and taking over for him, wrapping the cloak tightly to keep the morning chill out. Karkat still hated the red color of it, and even more so the “little red” name that came with it, so he would try in vain to change the color. Every week or so, the boy would dip the magical wears into a pool of grey dye down at Kanaya’s, hiding the bright red for a while. Unfortunately for him, however, the magic always brought the color right back, forcing him to either accept it, as if that would ever happen, or continue this pattern until he does. No matter what Kanaya or Porrim, the maker of the cloak, said, Karkat’s mind could not be swayed.

Many a day did Kankri ponder the idea of coming with Karkat, in an attempt to kill the boredom and feel a bit more like he used to, but that idea was always shot down by both himself and Karkat, who did not want his talkative brother hanging over his shoulder all day. Kankri didn’t want to impose anyway. Karkat needed to do this on his own, for Kankri will not always be around to hold his hand for him, not that he ever has had the need to do so since Karkat had been a small thing.

Either way, Kankri had been bored out of his mind. It took him much longer, that fateful day, to decide on which book to read, for now the fourth time. For, every time he made the decision, he lost interest in that particular title at the remembrance of having recently read it compared to others. Once one had been chosen, the decision solid in his mind, he had the thought that perhaps a change of location would aid him in his endeavor.

So he had set out on a brisk walk, traveling through lesser known paths through the trees, least he run into Karkat and trigger him, making him think he was spying on the younger Vantas. With book held tightly in his arms, Kankri allowed his hands to run through the greenery as he passed, plucking petite flowers and gracing his dark locks with them every now and then. The fresh air did him some good.

What came next, however, did not.

A low growl came from behind him, causing his steps to falter and his back to straighten further. Another growl joined the first, then another, then another. Kankri did not need to look to know what was stalking him, for it was not the first time they met, and hopefully not the last.

The wolves of the forest tended to leave him alone. Then again, that was when he was Little Red and had been in closer proximity to the Big Bad Wolf or his brother. They feared and respected the pair, in their own way, and would not dare to hurt either Vantas so long as they were under the protection of the Makaras.

However, Kankri had not been around either of the wolf brothers in quite some time and these wolves were on the verge of forgetting what human flesh even tasted like, so they were willing to take their chances. Besides, he was so far away from either of the Makaras, or the regular paths of anyone, that no one would even find his body until it was much too late. They would pick every inch of meat off of his wry form and then pull apart the bones and scatter them throughout the grounds. They wouldn’t be caught. Not this time.

Besides, no one would miss the ex-little red.


	2. A Castle in the Trees

With teeth bared and deep growls ripping from their throats, they leapt for Kankri, who immediately dug his feet into the earth and took off. Kankri felt the brush of wind behind his left ankle as the jaws of a wolf snapped at it.

The forest turned on him as his continued to pound the fading path with his leather boots. The space between trees became thinner as Kankri entered an area never before blazed with a path. Branches and thorns groped his body as he flew past, attempting to slow him down, if not halt him completely and feed him to the wolves. Not one to give up so easily, he pushed these obstacles out of his way, gathering small scratches that drew just the slightest blood from each.

No matter how much determination one has, however, it is near impossible to run blindly into a forest turned against you and hope to outrun a pack of hungry and equally determined wolves. Especially if the one running is a certain Kankri Vantas, who was in no means fit before passing on his duties. His heart felt like it was one beat away from flying from his chest and his breath was coming out in short, fast pants, leaving him foggy-headed.

The wolves were getting faster the longer they ran. They felt not the burn in their limbs, nor in their lungs as they flew forward towards their prey. It had been so long since they had gotten to chase human; so long since they had to do more than dig up hidden critters that were barely able to feed them on a good day. But this was a _human_. Even though tiny, it would be a rather hearty meal compared to squirrels and rabbits.

Kankri stumbled over a protruding root, slowing down his pace enough for one of the wolves’ jaws to snap down on the end of his hood. In order to avoid those same jaws ending up somewhere much more unpleasant, Kankri relented his coat, shedding it without a second thought as he gathered himself and continued to run.

Of course, as the world would have it, rain began to fall. It started off as just a little misting, but soon transformed into fat, heavy drops that were icy to the touch, stinging his bare flesh as it made contact. His unruly locks flattened to his forehead, sticking to the pale flesh and blinding him from time to time.

In was during one of these moments of blindness that he found himself running straight into a solid surface that was much bigger and colder than a simple tree.

With barely a though of hesitation, Kankri’s hands wrapped around the rusting bars of the large gate, using a nearby tree to push his feet above the wolves as they reached his location. They leapt up in the air, snapping their powerful jaws in an attempt to catch a limb, or even a scrap of cloth, in order to pull him down to their feasting. Kankri denied them of this, climbing his way over the top of the gate before hopping off on the other side.

The wolves growled and whined, trying to dig under the gate when they found it too strong to push over and the bars too close to slip through.

“ _Just you wait, ex-Red_ ,” the largest and the obvious leader, due to his ability to speak human tongue, growled out. He stood in front of the pack, baring his fangs at Kankri. “ _You can’t stay here forever. Even you gots to eats, and when you do, we will be here. It’s too late to let you go now_.” The large creature barked something in his wolf tongue to the others, causing them to burst into the wolf-equivalent of cackling.

The wolves disported from sight, but did not leave the perimeter. They surrounded the small castle, which, now that Kankri got a better look at it, looked almost as intimidating as the hunting wolves outside the gate. They could not let him slip away, not now that they had hunted him. It would only take one word from Kankri and they would be the ones being hunted. Their punishment would be great from the Makaras, whether it be banishment _or worse._

Kankri bit his lower lip, eyes darting between the seemingly empty forest and the equally seemingly empty castle. As the rain pelted against his face over and over, he made his choice.

As he hesitantly made his way to the front door, he wondered if this would be the second bad decision he has made today.


	3. The Beast

Raising a tentative hand to the ordinate doors, Kankri reached for the rusting knocker only to have it fall from the chipping wood as soon as his fingers brushed against its rough surface. Kankri leapt back, saving his already sore right foot from suffering the brunt force of its fall. Taking in the state of the knocker’s twin, Kankri decided on a new approach.

Putting a hand to the door, he lightly pushed, finding it much easier to open than what it appeared. It creaked open, the door leaving his hand behind as it revealed the uncomfortable darkness within. The fact that the skies above nearly as dark weighed heavy on his mind as he rethought his options. The biting cold touch of the rain and the growing breeze finalized his decision. With one last glance over his shoulder, he held his waterlogged book tightly to him, as if it were an appropriate shield, and stepped over the threshold.

The door creaked shut as Kankri leaned his back upon it. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. The steady rise and fall of his chest brought him peace of mind and calmed his raving nerves. He stared deep into the cloak of darkness that surrounded him, willing it to give way and reveal all of the secrets it held so dear. While his eyes did adjust to it in just the slightest, he still couldn’t make out the shapes or forms of anything else in the room. He could barely see his hand held just a few inches from his face.

Determining that it would do him no good to stay upon the stoop, shivering in his damp clothes hanging off of his lithe form and dripping locks, Kankri took a few tentative steps forward, being mindful of even the slightest of noises as he wandered. With slow and even steps, he inched away from the door and his only, known of as of yet, exit and escape from whatever may lurk deeper in.

A warm breath against the bare nape of his neck caused his hair to stand on end.

“Vwhat-”

The low whisper fell silent as the back of his skull made contact with the owner of the voice. Kankri could only assume that he had struck the nose of the thing, for it howled something fierce with a sickening crunch and took a step back. Not wanting to waste a single second that could be used to ensure his safety, Kankri shifted his weight to his right foot, swinging his body around to face the other. Using this momentum, he brought his waterlogged novel up and blindly swung it at where he believe the head to be.

Based on the second howl that echoed the first, he was right in his belief.

His feet thinking faster than his head, Kankri’s body jolted into movement, rushing towards where he had come from, moving more to the left in order to avoid the howling figure. The air was stolen from his lungs as an object, which he assumed was a table of some sort, halted him.

The few seconds that he was struggling to get his thoughts and breath back together were enough, as it would seem, for the other to retaliate.

A fist slammed down upon the table. “Vwhat the hell?!” the shadow-cloaked figure shouted. “You come in here, attack me, and… _damnit_! I think you broke my nose. The hell did you hit me vwith?”

Kankri backed from the other, pressing his back against the wall when he found nowhere else to go in the dark. “A-A waterlogged tome,” he responded hesitantly, barely audible over the sound of the other rustling through the various drawers and tables that cluttered the room. “I-It was dark and you startled me.”

“I vwas napping.” A light flickered as a candle was held up. “I’m not going to leavwe candles on to burn the place dovwn. If I had knovwn that I vwas going to havwe company, I vwould havwe brought out the vwine and fancy-spancy cheese platters.”

For once, Kankri found no words to speak. The man before him was some sort of malformed merperson. His scale-less flesh was grey in color and pulled taunt over bulging muscles, as expected of someone of his race, but two jagged horns protruded from his slick black locks and he stood upon a pair a legs instead of a fishtail.

The man’s earfins flared as he took in Kankri’s appearance. His violet eyes narrowed and his mouth twisted into a grin, revealing rows of sharp fangs that caused Kankri’s heart to skip a beat, “Vwell hello there, babe. If I’d knovwn my vwisitor vwas going to be so cute, I vwould havwe lit the vwhole place for you.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re excused, babe.” His eyes roamed lower on Kankri’s form. “Name’s Cronus. Vwhat svweet tag do you got?”

White-knuckled hands tightened around the book, holding the “weapon” closer to his chest. “Kankri,” he answered calmly, eyes darting to the door behind Cronus, wondering if he could make a break for it if things went awry. “Kankri Vantas.”

“Vwell, Kankri,” Cronus placed a hand upon Kankri’s quivering shoulder, “hovw about vwe get you out of those clothes.”

Kankri briefly pondered facing the wolves once again as his book made contact with the side of Cronus’s head.


	4. Vwanna Break My Curse?

The other, more used, areas of the castle were much more pleasing to be in, much to Kankri’s relief. With candles lit and a roaring fire done up in the fireplace, the ex-Red could see that the new room that he was led to was much finer. Decorative, but rather uncomfortable, furniture, somewhat stained rugs, and far less clutter made it at least better than jumbled mess of the entryway.

The fireplace warmed Kankri and helped dry his clothes, which, against the encouragement of his “host”, he refused to take off, no matter what it would do to his health. The snaps and light crackling of the logs ablaze filled the room, interrupting the awkward silence that had fallen over the pair.

Kankri shifted on the couch, pressing his back against the arm as Cronus scooted closer, never taking his eye off of the smirking man. Even with the flowing warmth of the fire surrounding him, he still felt a cold chill pass over him at the sight of the sharp teeth and the leering eyes that scoured him, looking at him as if he were some sort of desired treat that one had waited all throughout a rather unpleasant dinner to get to. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought.

“If you are so cold still,” Cronus said smoothly, leaning forward until he was towering over the human, “vwe can alvways cuddle together for vwarmth.”

Kankri responded by leaning back farther, not caring that the arm was pressing into the small of his back uncomfortably.

The smirk on Cronus’s face fathered for a split second. The beast moved back to his original spot on the other end of the couch, though Kankri did not return to his. Cronus groaned, running a hand over his black locks, slicking them back between his horns.

“Vwhat is it that scares you?” he asked, eyes locked on a particularly large log in the fireplace. “Is it the horns or the teeth? Or because I havwe legs? Or maybe it is the vwhole package that scares you? I promise, I am not going to hurt you.”

Kankri found that a little hard to believe, given his luck today, so he said nothing.

Cronus’s eyes darted back up to his face. “Vwould it help if I vwere human? Cause vwe could make that happen.”

Kankri quirked a fine brow. “How?” he asked tentatively.

“Vwell this is not vwhat I alvways looked like, ya see.” The man turned towards him, running his hand up not-so-stealthily towards Kankri’s thigh. “Let’s just say I messed vwith the vwrong little honey and got cursed to look like this.”

“Were you human? Before you got cursed?”

Cronus laughed, tipping his head back. “I vwish! No. I vwas a seadvweller. A merman, I believe you call us. Vwanted to be human, hit on the vwrong girl, got cursed. Real hot babe, though. Big honkers on her.” The man gestured towards his own chest, outlining the shape. “Anyvway, vwe can break my curse, the tvwo of us. Vwanna know how?”

“Please remove your hand from my leg.” Kankri brought his knees up to his chest.

“If vwe vwanna get me fully human, vwe are gonna need to make a little lovwe.” Cronus winked and came closer again, crawling on all fours. “Don’t vworry. I’ll be gentle.”

“Oh gosh!” Kankri found his new positon on the hard floor to be much more preferable, seeing as it was a good distance from those wandering hands. He clutched at himself, as if his own hands were the only thing keeping him together. “I am celibate!”

“Celibate?” Cronus snorted. “Vwhat do you think you are? A nun?”

A deep-set blush marred his pale flesh, lighting up the pout that had formed on his face. Kankri wished that Cronus had not taken away his book after the second time he had hit him, for he could use the comfort of a shield at the moment. Kankri doubted that he would ever see it again, not that it was in any shape to be read anymore.

“Calm dovwn, babe.” Cronus stood up, causing Kankri to flinch. “I’m not going to force myself on you. You can relax.” The cursed man riffled thorugh a trunk on the other side of the room. “I don’t havwe much here, but take vwhat you like, babe.  Feel free to take vwatervwer room, or you could come stay in mine.”

“I won’t be here long,” Kankri promised, climbing back onto the couch, but keeping a warry eye on Cronus. “Once the storm has passed, I am heading home.”

Cronus clicked his tongue thoughtfully. “Sorry to ‘rain on your parade’, but that isn’t happening anytime soon.” He strolled closer. “You aren’t going anyvwhere until my _curse_ is broken.” He placed a hand on Kankri’s stiff head, ruffling his hair. “Vwelcome, babe,” he placed a blanket on the other, “you are now my prisoner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has only been three days since my last update, but I can't help myself. I'm getting so excited with this work that I could barely hold myself back to focus on other things. I will probably update again within the next few days.


	5. You Vwill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. <3   
> I have posted the first chapter of the Karkat Talestuck along with a little teaser for the Sollux/Feferi/Eridan (This is not the pairing, just the main characters) story.   
> Feel free to comment if you see any spelling mistakes, or any mistakes at all. I sometimes don't catch all of my mistakes after I finish writing. Plus I love getting comments. It brings a bright smile to my face.

Not daring to wander from the warmth of the fireplace, nor wanting to wander the castle with someone like Cronus on the prowl, Kankri had decided to bundle himself up in the blanket given to him. He was almost thankful for the troubles of the day, for it did not take long for the weariness to take hold and drag him into slumber.

He awoke to clawed fingers running across his side.

“Vwoah!” Cronus took a step back from the couch as Kankri flailed, wanting greater distance between him and the once-seadweller. “Calm dovwn, babe. Just figured you vwould vwant some grub.”

Kankri curled into a tight ball, wrapping his arms around his knees and pulling the blanket around him like a suite of armor. “Please refrain from touching me, for I find that action to be quite triggering.”

Cronus rolled his eyes. “Vwhatevwer.” He held up his hands and took another step back. “Better, babe?”

Kankri’s face twisted in distain. “My name is Kankri.”

“I call evweryone babe, babe.”

“Well I find it to be a rather derogatory term and suggest that you cease from calling me of such.”

Cronus briefly pondered whether he should expect to be rolling his eyes for the rest of the day. “Fine. Hovw about Kanks? Or Kri? Vwait. Hovw about Kanny?”

“My name,” Kankri hissed with clenched teeth, “is Kankri.”

“Vwhatevwer you say, Kan.” The man turned away from his prisoner, heading into the next room. “Food’s ready vwhen you vwant it.”

Kankri remained silent, determined not to move from his “safe” zone on the couch. His stomach, however, protested loudly to his plan. With flushed cheeks and blanket wrapped tight around his shoulders, the human rose from the uncomfortable furniture and followed after his captor.

The room was filled with a nasty din as Cronus carelessly pushed the clutter off of the table, presumably the dining table based on the looks of it. Pots, pans, dishware, and other various objects that Kankri couldn’t quite identify. With the table now clear, save for a pair of plates loaded with eggs and other breakfast wares, he gave Kankri a grin and sad down before one of the plates, gesturing towards the other.

The human sank into the creaking chair hesitantly, taking in the new room as he did so. Much like the first room he had been in, this one was packed full with unnecessary furniture, dirty dishware, and other forms of random clutter. The sight of the mess made Kankri’s fingers twitch, though he tried his best to keep his disgust from his facial features, least he trigger the man that looked like he could easily take him down.

“Is it just you here?” he asked, drawing his eyes away from a chipped cup that had some form of mold growing within it.

Cronus chuckled. “Vwhat vwere you expecting? A full staff of maids? Enchanted objects at my beck and call?” He leaned his chin on his hand. “No. It is just me here. Vwell… me and you.”

Kankri scooted his chair back a bit farther.

“Don’t be like that, Kan.” Cronus picked up his fork. “Dig in. I svwear I didn’t poison it or nothin’. I can’t speak for the taste, but it isn’t deadly.”

Judging by the fact that, three bites in, he didn’t feel any worse for wear, Kankri decided that he could trust Cronus for now. He shoveled the food into his mouth, having forgotten until that moment that his last meal had been breakfast the day before.

“So I thought that novw vwould be the best time to talk about rules.” Cronus, already finished with his own plate, much to Kankri’s surprise, leaned forward across the table. He pushed the plate off of the table, not even flinching when it clattered to the floor. “First off, don’t evwen bother trying to escape. The doors are all locked and, should you decide to smash a vwindow to get out, I assure you that I can easily catch you again. I am bigger, stronger, and I’m vwilling bet faster.”

“You can’t seriously be planning on keeping me here,” Kankri exclaimed, abandoning his food. “I need to get home. My brother will be worried sick once he finds out that I am missing.” Kankri wasn’t sure that “worried sick” was the right thing to say to describe Karkat’s reaction, but he didn’t dare hold back while pleading his case.

“Vwell he is going to have to vwait,” Cronus hissed, scowling deeply. “You are free to leavwe as soon as I am fully human. I got things to do and people to see too, so I am not going to sit here and vwait for someone else to shovw up.”

“But I can’t help-”

Kankri was interrupted as Cronus stood sharply, slamming his fists on the table top as his chair fell behind him. “You don’t havwe a fucking choice, shortshit,” he hissed, baring his fangs. “You are going to help me vwhether you like it or not. Once I am free, you can go do vwhatever the fuck you vwant. I don’t care, but you are going to stay until you lovwe me.”

Kankri stared up at the man with wide eyes as his trembling hands held the blanket so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His throat constricted and he found it hard to breath as he watched Cronus slick his hair back and wander towards the exit.

“Choose a room already, vwill ya?” Cronus muttered, his voice much calmer now that he wasn’t facing the human. “You vwill catch a cold sleeping on my couch like that.”

And like that, he was gone, leaving behind a stunned and somewhat terrified Kankri to finish his own meal. Looking down at it, Kankri no longer felt the need to eat, especially since he didn’t know if he was going to be able to hold the previous bites down now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. <3   
> I have posted the first chapter of the Karkat Talestuck along with a little teaser for the Sollux/Feferi/Eridan (This is not the pairing, just the main characters) story.   
> Feel free to comment if you see any spelling mistakes, or any mistakes at all. I sometimes don't catch all of my mistakes after I finish writing. Plus I love getting comments. It brings a bright smile to my face.


	6. Play Me A Melody

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to get out a chapter, since I have been so busy the last week. So far this is the longest chapter. I am running off of MnM's and little sleep, so I just kept on typing until I came off my sugar high. Hopefully it will still be good when I wake up in the morning.  
> The next update for Talestuck is going to be on Karkat's story. <3

Days had passed by rather slowly. Kankri, fearing running into Cronus, kept himself locked away in his room and ignoring the growing hunger within him. At night, when he was sure that the other had gone to bed already, the human would sneak into the kitchen and obtain sustenance before hiding himself away again.

  True to what Cronus had said, every exit that Kankri came across whenever he went out of his room for food was locked tight. It would seem that his only way out would be to smash a window, and hope that Cronus is too distracted to catch him, or for the beast to let him go. Since he didn’t find either likely to happen anytime soon, Kankri decided to just continue on with his pattern of sneaking and, hopefully, he might find a weapon of some sort to aid him once he decided to attempt an escape.

Currently, he was weaponless and curled up in the middle of his lavish bed, trying to fend off his hunger for a few more hours. Every now and then, he could hear Cronus pacing the creaky floor outside of his chosen room. The man had knocked on the door relentlessly the first day, cooing words at him through the door to try to get him to open up, but, after that failure, he had not bothered Kankri again. If it were not for the occasional visit outside the door, albeit, a quiet visit, Kankri would have assumed that Cronus had forgotten all about him.

A sudden clatter in the hall drew the human’s attention. Next came the screech of something being dragged across the floor and a light knock before everything fell into silence again.

Against his better judgement, Kankri fell to his own curiosity and made his way over to the door, cracking it open just a few inches to peek out.

He was met with the side table, once on the other side of the room and ladled with bolts of cloth and various little trinkets that were too rusted and broken to properly identify, was now pressed up against his door. A steaming plate of chicken and vegetables stood alone upon it, drawing a low rumble from his stomach.

Seeing no sign of Cronus anywhere, Kankri took hold of the plate and brought it in with him, making sure to lock the door again as soon as it was shut.

Kankri didn’t leave the room for more than a few brief seconds for the next week, seeing as his meals were continuously delivered straight to him in this manner during that time. Just like the first time, Kankri had not caught any sight of the man who held him captive, only hearing him place the plate in the regular spot on the table before his footsteps would rush down the hall and vanish once again. After he was finished eating, Kankri would leave his picked-clean plate out for the other to take and put who-knows-where, seeing as Cronus obviously did not believe in cleaning of any sort.

The mere thought of it made Kankri hesitate mid-chew, glancing down at the seemingly clean dishware.

His appetite having been lost, the human took the unfinished meal and took it back outside of his sanctuary, placing it on the table by the door. He hoped that Cronus would not become enraged, or worse, _triggered_ , with the incompletion.

He was about to head back in, sealing himself away until breakfast is delivered the next day, but an unfamiliar sound caught his attention, causing him to falter in his step and turn to face down the hallway. Deciding to investigate, seeing as no harm has befallen him any other time that he has decided to do so, Kankri left his room behind and followed the distant, barely there, melody.

One hall down and through three cluttered rooms, Kankri found himself in the doorway of the cleanest room, in comparison to the others, in the whole castle. It was full of clutter as well, but all of that mess was pushed to the walls, allowing the area surrounding a grand baby piano to be clear. From his position, Kankri could see the swaying back of his captor as his fingers danced over the keys, playing a melody that he couldn’t quite place a name on, though he knew that he had heard it before.

“Didn’t think that you vwould be out of your room this soon,” the man commented, not even halting his fingers in their dance for a split second. “And here I vwas thinking that I vwould have to leavwe a trail of food to lead you out. You knovw, like vwhat you do vwith cute little squirrels and stuff. You knovw vwhat I mean, Kanny-Baby?”

“I didn’t know you could play,” Kankri said, choosing to ignore what Cronus had said as he crept closer.

“Vwouldn’t havwe expected you to,” Cronus replied. “It’s not like I mentioned it and you seem to like your ovwn company more than trying out mine.”

“I think you will find my reasoning to be quite understandable if you recall how we met, how you are holding me captive, and every other encounter that we have had up until now. Not to mention that you have no sense of personal boundaries and are persistent in forcing me to stay here and get rid of your curse through means that I am rather uncomfortable with due to my vow of celibacy and-”

“You sure do like to talk, don’t ya?” Cronus snorted, playing the piano much lighter now. “If you vwere in the same situation as me, vwouldn’t you be doing vwhat I am?”

“I wouldn’t be in your situation,” Kankri stated, crossing his arms over his chest. “I would not have hit on the witch, or whatever she was, and, therefore, would not be cursed in the first place.”

Cronus said nothing, letting his eyes wander away from Kankri’s face to his dancing fingers.

“So… um…” Kankri picked at a loose thread from his sweater. Looking up on the piano, he noticed the lack of the sheet music. “What song is this?”

Cronus shrugged. “Hell if I knovw.” He played the last few notes and took his hands away as the music hung in the air for just a moment before fading away into silence. “It vwas just a little ditty that I heard people singing vwhile grovwing up. It vwasn’t too hard to figure out the notes.” He reached under his seat and brought up a stack of papers. He handed them to his “guest”. “Go ahead and pick one out, Kan.”

The human shifted through the papers. “Can you play ‘Clair de Lune’ for me?” Kankri asked, placing the stack onto the top of the piano.

Cronus pushed the stack over, revealing all of the sheets. “Vwhich one is it? Point.”

Eyes shifting from the fishman to the papers, Kankri tapped the desired piece. Cronus scanned the first few measures before nodding and pushing the papers away. He placed his fingers back onto the keys and began to play.

“Cronus?” Kankri questioned, sitting on the edge of the bench, keeping as much distance from Cronus on the other end as possible. “I hope you do not mind me asking, and I hope even more so that you are not triggered by me asking this, but can you not read?”

“Vwoah, babe,” Cronus chuckled as he continued with the gentle melody. “Vway to be blunt.”

“I’m sorry. I did not mean to-”

“Calm dovwn. I vwas just joking.” Cronus nibbled on his bottom lip, the sharp teeth threatening to puncture it. “Vwhen you are undervwater, you can’t really havwe paper or books. Seadvwellers also aren’t typically allovwed to be up near the surface either, so, if vwe vwant to read, vwe havwe to do it vwith simple symbols that can be carvwed into stone. I could teach myself hovw to read music though, since I just need to knovw vwhich notes are vwhat and vwhat keys to hit.”

“I didn’t know that,” Kankri admitted. “My brother knows two merpeople who have moved into our village. They seem to have no problem reading, based on Eridan’s habit of borrowing the romance novels from Karkat.”

 Kankri jumped as the melody interrupted with a handful of wrong notes. Glancing over at Cronus, he saw that the man was frozen, fingers pressing into the keys as his eyes stared down at them.

“S-Some learn quickly once they are givwen the chance.” After taking in a deep breath, Cronus continued on with the tune. “So you knovw other seadvwellers? Vwhat are they like? Tell me about this… _Eridan_ … character.”

“I don’t know them too well,” Kankri admitted, watching Cronus carefully. “My younger brother, Karkat, is friends with them. I, myself, have only met them a couple of times. From what I know, they were merpeople that made a deal with a seawitch in order to become human. Feferi lives in the castle while Eridan choose a house near the beach, so I don’t run into them often.”

Cronus didn’t say a word. With a deep frown, he continued on with the song, not bothering to even spare Kankri a glance. Before the final note had even finished ringing through the room, he was on his feet and heading for the entrance.

“There is a um… _library_ … in the next room. Feel free to use it or… vwhatevwer.”

“Wait,” Kankri called after him before he could stop himself. He was faintly surprised when the merman did, in fact, pause. “I’m sorry if I upset or triggered you.”

“It’s okay, Kankri,” Cronus muttered. “You didn’t upset me. I just… I think I am just going to go to bed novw. Night.”

“Do you know them; the seadwellers?”

Cronus let out a sigh as he started to walk towards the door again. “No.” The door clicked behind him and Kankri was left in silence.


	7. I Can Teach You

Kankri didn’t have to try hard to avoid Cronus after that day, for it seemed like the man was avoiding him. Every now and then, the human would see his peering at him, violet eyes watching him intently until he noticed that he had been notice. At that point, the seadweller would leave whatever room quickly, not saying a word to him.

After a week of this, Kankri decided that it was worse than being hit on by Cronus.

For once, he was on the search, wandering from room to room with his arms ladled with tools that were crucial to his master plan as he looked for any sign of the merman. The kitchen, living room, and various storage rooms were all empty, save for the typical clutter that was expected by now. Even the study was void of the man, the piano having been untouched since their last full conversation.

Only one last place to look. Kankri nibbled on his lower lip, contemplating ending his search before he had to go to the one room that he had never entered before; Cronus’ room. He had located it a handful of days ago, after having seen the man escape to it many times in the past week. Based on Cronus’ perceived personality, going off of his behavior during their initial meeting, Kankri wasn’t sure that he wanted to be trapped in the other’s bedroom with him.

Kankri stood outside of his host’s door for a good few moments in silence, still thinking over the pros and cons of his future actions. His eyes roamed over the battered wood, taking in the chipped paint and the rusting metal of the hinges, a familiar sight for all of the doors he has come across in the castle.

Deciding that he had waited long enough, and having a sudden burst of courage, Kankri brought his hand up to the door, shifting the weight of his packaged completely on his other arm. Before he could knock, the door swung open, bringing forth the man in which Kankri was hoping, and loathing, to see.

“Vwoah.” Cronus smirked at the sight of him, but it seemed much emptier than before. “Didn’t expect to see you vwaiting by my door, babe. Finally going to take me up on that offer? I svwear, I vwill be vwery gentle with you.”

Kankri rolled his eyes. “I, of course, did not come in order to partake in any such activities with you, Cronus, and you should not hint at it seeing as I have already informed you of my celibacy and how triggered I feel when you speak like that to me.” Kankri shifted the bundle in his arms, trying to get more comfortable holding it. “I do hope that you are not triggered by me being here unexpectedly, but I have something that I would like to discuss with you. If you do not mind, nor feel triggered by me asking, may I enter your bedroom? I would like to put these down somewhere as my arms are starting to get tired.”

“Uhhhhh…” Cronus scratched the back of his head. “I guess so… sure. Make yourself at home or vwhatevwer.” Cronus stepped aside and allowed the other to pass through his threshold before shutting the door behind him. “Vwhat is vwith all of the books anyvway? Planning on reading me to bed at night? I can think of one or tvwo other activwities that vwould get us both tired enough to fall asleep.”

“While I am here with you, I must ask you to withhold on such comments.” Kankri placed the books on a small table, which he was surprised to find rather clear compared to the rest of the room. “Seeing as books were, and still are, a large part of my life, I cannot just stand by and let you go on with illiteracy when I am fully capable of solving that problem.”

“I kinda miss the days vwhen you vwere too afraid to speak more than a fevw sentences at a time,” Cronus muttered, slicking his hair back as he grimaced. “Look… I don’t need to knovw hovw to read. I havwe lasted this long, so vwhy don’t vwe just movwe our minds avway from betvween the pages and get ourselvwes betvween the sheets instead? I assure you that I am much more suitable there.”

“You can’t want to be human and expect not to need to read,” Kankri stated, clearing a nearby chair for himself. “Please take a seat so that we may begin.”

“Lots of humans can’t read,” the other grumbled, though he took a seat nonetheless. “You do knovw that, just because you are doing this, I am not going to release you, right? Unless teaching me hovw to read somehovw breaks my _curse_ , you might as vwell just givwe up right novw.”

Kankri rolled his eyes, selecting a book from his pile and opening it up to the first page without so much of a second glance at the other man. He could not deny that his hope for freedom was the key reason for this mission, especially since, as he has been told many times by his friends, he was a horrible liar.  Gratitude is a powerful thing, perhaps powerful enough for this man to release him, or to, at least, slip up just enough for Kankri to escape. “Reading is essential in life, in my own opinion, of course. I have always been able to find solace within the pages of a good story and, after teaching my little brother the way of the words, I believe that it would be fair to say that he does too.”

“I’m still not going to free you.”

“I do believe that this one would be the best suited in teaching you.” Kankri’s eyes roamed over the familiar text. “This is a collection of small stories, the kind that you would read to young children before sending them off to bed. The vocabulary is simple enough and most words do not go over a maximum of seven letters.”

Cronus scoffed, running a hand over his slick locks again. “So you are just going to treat me like a little tyke? _Great_. I can just feel the respect I’m getting here.”

“I could pull out the works of Shakespeare and, as the saying goes, throwing you to the wolves.” Kankri briefly thought back to the reason why he had gotten trapped in the castle in the first place and shook his head in order to rid himself of such ironic thoughts. “We will start by going over the alphabet and, once you get that down, we can move on to the stories.”

“Vwhatevwer you say, Kanny-babe.” Cronus scooted closer, not bothering to even hide his movement. “Vwe might run a little late, so you should probably just plan to sleep here tonight. I’m a slovw learner, but I promise you that I am a quick teacher.” Cronus threw him a wink as he wrapped an arm around Kankri’s shoulders, his hand sliding down his arm as the human stiffened under the unwelcomed touch.

Kankri was never so happy to have a book in his hand once again as he snapped it shut and brought it down upon the other man’s head.


	8. Just Leavwe

Kankri crossed his arms over his chest, resisting the urge to pout as he sank into the cushions of his chair and stared at the other man. “I believe that I can hold the book myself, Cronus. How are you supposed to learn anything if I cannot even see the words that you are struggling over.”

“To be frank, I don’t trust you to hold it, Kanny,” Cronus hissed, drawing the tome closer to his person, keeping it from Kankri’s reaching hands. “Damn, babe. I bet you could do more damage vwith one of these than vwith a svword or scythe or something.”

“I am not prone to such act of violence under normal circumstances, for I find that there is usually a peaceful route to just about any problem, but, due to the situation that I find myself currently in, I see that such actions are a necessity.” Kankri gave up on trying to take the book from the seadweller, choosing to slip his arms back over his chest once again.

“You havwe been tutoring me for a month novw,” Cronus commented. “You should knovw by novw that I am not actually going to do anything, so there really is no reason for you to try to givwe me a concussion vwith a book of nursery rhymes.”

“You are holding me prisoner here against my will for an unforeseeable amount of time, keeping me from my brother and friends and turning my life upside-down without a care. I have every right to question the dark motives behind each and every bit of your relentless teasing.”

“You can leavwe vwhenevwer you vwant, just as soon as you break my curse,” Cronus hummed thoughtfully, flicking through the pages of the book without actually taking in the text. “I get my freedom and you vwill get yours. It’s a vwin-vwin.”

The human scoffed. “It is hardly fair that I am being forced into this. It is your own fault that you are forced into this state of in-between, not mine.”

Cronus allowed his eyes to wander to his “guest”, giving him a warning glare. “I vwouldn’t speak so much if I vwas you. Especially on things that you knovw nothing about.”

“I think I know plenty about your situation, based on how you act and what you have already told me about your curse,” Kankri hissed back, not entirely sure why he was suddenly feeling a rush of anger pulse through his viens. He supposed, for a short moment, that it was just pent up rage over being entrapped by the man before him, but he didn’t spare much thought on the matter as he continued. “You were unable to control yourself, assuming that you even tried in the first place. You didn’t use your head or worry about anyone else’s feelings, following your lust to trigger some poor woman. The way I see it, this is just punishment for whatever it was that you had said to her. If anything, you probably got off lucky.”

Cronus stood up, slamming the book on the table, causing Kankri to flinch at the sudden loud noise. “I don’t knovw vwhat the hell your problem is right novw, Vwantas, but you need to shut the hell up if you vwant to keep that pretty face of yours in one piece.”

“You wouldn’t do anything to hurt me,” Kankri assured himself more than the man looming over him intimidatingly. “As you have stated over and over again, you need me to break the curse that you got by your own carelessness and selfish lust. Pardon my triggering, but you will never be free. Not by my hands, at least. I will never love you. I will never lay with you. And, once I am finally free of you, I will try my best not to even think of you and the horrid time that I have spent here.”

Cronus raised his hand above his head, though Kankri couldn’t tell if this was because he was contemplating hitting him or slicking back his hair, something that the human had noticed that the seadweller did when he was nervous or upset. Cronus let the hand hang in the hair for a full minute before gritting his teeth and let it fall.

“Vwhatevwer,” he hissed, shoving past Kankri. “I don’t need to take this kind of shit from someone like you.” He exited the room, not bothering to spare his prisoner even a second glance.

“What do you mean by that?!” Kankri stormed after him, following the larger man all the way to the kitchen where he watched him dig through the icebox. “Don’t walk away from me, Cronus. We are having a very serious conversation and I, for one, find it to be highly triggering to be interrupted from it because of your rather rude actions.”

Cronus continued to ignore him, uncapping a bottle of liquor and chugging it back. Once it was empty, he slammed the glass on a nearby table, nearly shattering it in his rage, before reaching in and taking a few more bottles into his beefy arms. He kicked the door to the icebox shut as he moved his drinks to the empty spot on the kitchen table.

“Alcohol?” Kankri scoffed. “That concoction is nothing by poison that rots the mind and dulls the senses. I have never touched the substance and I do not think that you should either. The consumption of this liquor will only make it harder for us to work out our problems and talk live civil human beings-”

“I’m not a human being!” Cronus interrupted. “And you made it clear that I am not going to be anytime soon. Damnit. I am not drunk enough to listen to you speak right novw.”

“Cronus, I-”

“No.”

“But we-”

“Shut up.”

“You can’t just-”

Cronus slammed his current drink down next to its five empty brothers. “Leavwe!”

Kankri fell silent.

The seadweller ran a hand over his hair, ruffling it instead of slicking it back. “You aren’t going to help me break my curse and my company is obvwiously nothing short of hell on earth, so vwhy don’t you just leavwe. Go! I release you, or some shit. The keys are over the doorframe.” Cronus shooed him away, swaying slightly as he downed another bottle. “Fucking leavwe already!”

Kankri was not about to refuse. Quickly turning from his drunkon captor, he rushed out of the kitchen, listening intently just in case Cronus changed his mind and rushed after him in an attempt to stop him.

He heard no such thing.

In a matter of seconds, he was through the array of rooms and by the front door. In a matter of minutes, the door was unlocked and he was rushing towards the gate entrance. He hooked a foot onto the side of it and wrapped his hands around the rusty bars.

Kankri was just about to start his upward climb when a flash of dark fur appeared just beyond the gate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have final projects coming up next week, so I probably won't be able to update during that time. Assuming that this is the case, I am going to be updating this story again either tomorrow or Sunday. I might even update again tonight, depending on how soon I can get some of my other work done.


	9. Cursed?

Kankri stepped back, dark eyes darting to the tree line, searching for any sign of movement.

“ _I suppose that there is no need to hide anymore.”_ Out of the shadows of the trees, a sleek form strode forth. The wolf peer up at Kankri with bright yellow eyes, holding its head up as it observed the human. _“Didn’t figure you would just let your guard down anyway.”_

“It has been months,” Kankri commented, stepping farther away from the gate, even though he was already a safe distance away. “Why are you still here? Surely there must be other things to do than to wait out here for an unforeseeable amount of time.”

The pack leader chuckled, shaking his head from side to side. “ _You wouldn’t know, seeing as you were too busy playing house with the fish here, but some unfortunate events took place in the village. My people are on thin ice right now and we can’t afford to let prey like you get away.”_

“What happened in the village?” Kankri drew closer, keeping an eye on the wolf. “What did you do?”

 _“Nothing that you will have to worry about for much longer.”_ The pack leader turned away from him. _“It won’t be long before we have you all along again. Just you wait.”_ The creature disappeared, slinking off into the darkness of the forest.

“Wait!” Kankri shouted, grasping the bars of the gate tightly as he tried to see the beast amongst the shadows. “Come back here and answer me! What happened in the village!? _Darnit_!” Kankri released his grip and kicked the metal in frustration, barely noticing the throbbing in his foot after the action as he paced back and forth, nibbling on the tip of his thumb.

He may have escaped the first layer of his prison, but it would seem that he was still trapped in this miserable place. He halted in his pacing, groaning as he tangled his slim fingers in his dark locks. “I need to get back to the village,” he muttered to himself, “but I’m not getting out of here without a bit of…” Kankri glanced back at the castle, “… help.”

Kankri contemplated his options, eyes darting from the castle to the forest. After he reminisced about the last encounter that he had with the wolves without a gate in-between, he quickly made his choice.

 

The castle was oddly silent when he reentered it. He had expected there to be a never-ending string of angry cursing that would ring out through every room, like it occasionally would whenever Karkat was in a particularly foul mood.  Instead of loud rants directed towards every inanimate object in sight, there was just the smallest hint of muffled sobs coming from the direction of the kitchen.

“C-Cronus?” Kankri called out hesitantly, peeking past the doorway.

The seadweller had run out of space on the table for his empty bottles, appearing to have just decided to drop them over the side when he was finished, ignoring the shattered glass for the moment. He ran a hand over his tearstained face before tipping another drink back, dropping it once he was finished. Kankri flinched once at the sound of the glass hitting the floor and flinched again as the bloodshot eyes of the man before him locked with his own.

“K-Kank-kri?” Cronus slurred, covering half of his face with one of his hands. “Vwha… Vwah are you doin’ ‘ere? I told you ta leavwe.”

“How many of these have you had?” Kankri took a few hesitant steps towards him.

“You came back?” Cronus shook his head and placed his hands firmly on the table, pushing himself up into a standing position. “You shouldn’t havwe don’ tha’.”

Kankri rushed forth as he noticed the other tipping forward suddenly. He wrapped his arms around Cronus, saving him from sharing the same fate as the many bottles that littered the floor in shambles. Not strong enough to carry the other far, Kankri lugged Cronus away from the broken glass to the far wall of the kitchen, finding him a safe place to sit and gather himself.

“Vwhy are you bak?” Cronus rested his forehead upon Kankri’s neck, causing the human to stiffen. “It don’t matter. You are ‘ere and that’s all I need.”

“Wha-” Kankri was cut off as a hand wrapped around the nape of his neck and pulled him in close enough for a moist pair of lips to smash into his own. He stared wide-eyed at Cronus as he tasted the liquor that he had been pouring down his throat for the last half hour or so. Kankri’s fingers trailed up the seadweller’s chest, pressing back against him in an attempt to break free. Their lips parted with a “ _smack_ ”. “What do you think you are doing, Cronus. I am a celebate and find it to be very triggering that you have gone back on your word of not touching me in such a way without consent, something that I had assured you would never happen.”

“I jus’ need it.” Cronus closed his eyes and bashed his head onto the wall behind him, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Please… jus’ givwe me this an’ I vwill nevwer talk ta you again. I vwon’t evwen vwalk dovwn the same street. Please jus’…. Please jus’ help me finish this.”

“Cronus?” Kankri watched as the other broke down, shoulder shaking as sobs violently wracked his body. Cronus’ words turned into a mess of slurred speech that Kankri was not able to understand, save for a few select words. “I think… I think that you have had enough to drink.”

“Please,” Cronus slurred, twisting his fingers into his ruffled hair. “I can’t leavwe him alone anymore. I need ta finish this and get ta him. _Please_. Please, Kankri. _Please_.”

Kankri slowly reached up a hand, stroking Cronus’s disheveled locks as he cried. “Cronus, I need you to be completely honest with me.” He didn’t wait for the seadweller to acknowledge his request. “You aren’t under the power of a curse, are you?”

Cronus stared up at him in shock, his bloodshot eyes searching Kankri’s dark orbs. After apparently finding whatever his drunken mind was looking for, he nodded. “I made a deal vwith a vwitch; _the_ sea witch. She had made a deal vwith the princess and my baby brother; _my baby brother_. I had to… I had to follovw him. I havwe to help him. No one else understands vwhat he has to do. I need… vwe need…”

“You made a deal with her to follow him up onto the shore, but you have to get… intimate… with someone to fulfill your end of the bargain,” Kankri whispered. “Am I correct?”

“I can’t evwen see him until I havwe sex.” Cronus banged his head against the wall again. “If I see him or if he evwen knovws I am out of the sea, I havwe to go back and vwork for her. I just need one time and I can be there for my little brother. I can help Eridan and he vwill nevwer havwe to be alone again. Please, Kankri. Don’t make him be lonely. Please.”

“I can’t,” Kankri whispered, gently pulling Cronus’ head away from the wall before he could do anymore damage. “I’m sorry, but I can’t just… sleep with you. Not for these reasons. I’m sorry.”

“I’ll nevwer see him again,” Cronus moaned, place his head against Kankri’s neck once more. “It is vwhy she chose it. She knevw no one vwould evwer vwant to touch me, no matter vwhat I looked like. I’m a filthy, disgusting, pervwerted freak vwho can’t get someone to spend time vwith them unless they hold them captivwe.”

“I’m sorry, Cronus.” Kankri brought his arms up to embrace the other man. “I am sorry about what I said earlier. I didn’t know and I can now see how my words have triggered you.”

“I’m disgusting”

“No,” Kankri assured, holding him tighter. “You’re wrong. You make beautiful music and you are making real big strides in your reading skills. _And_ you are not so bad of company when you are not hitting on me.”

“My music sucks,” Cronus stated. “Only Eridan vwould evwer listen to me play. Meenah vwould just tell me to stop making her ears bleed.”

“I like listening to you play.” Kankri felt the seadweller twitch as his fingers brushed over the horns protruding from his dark locks. “I don’t know who ‘Meana’ is, but she obviously doesn’t understand music if she thought that your playing was anything less than beautiful.”

Cronus said nothing for the longest of times, his soft breathing being the only thing to cut through the silence that had befallen the pair. Glancing down, Kankri took note of the closed eyes and the relaxed expression.

Kankri sighed. “I can’t carry you all the way up to your room, you know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am more than likely not going to update anything next week, because I have a lot of project due and will have no free time. I would say about 95% sure that I will not be able to update next week.  
> I hope that this chapter makes up for it.


	10. The Arrival of Beauty

“Vwhy are vwe on the floor?” Cronus asked, taking in the littered kitchen floor and the human he was curled around.

“I couldn’t lift you and, when I tried, you ended up laying on top of me, so I couldn’t leave either.” Kankri shoved at Cronus’s shoulder weakly, prompting the other man to roll off of him.

“Sorry about that, but vwhy are vwe on the floor.” Cronus’ eyes roamed over the empty bottles and shattered glass. “I didn’t get vwasted, did I? Nevwermind. Stupid question. Of course I did. Damn.” He grasped the other by the shoulder gently. “I am sorry for vwhatevwer I did. I am not in control of my actions vwhen I am drinking.”

“Are you a black out drinker?”

“The vworst,” Cronus groaned, releasing his prisoner. “I tried not to drink vwhile you vwere here, but I just said ‘fuck it’ last night and I didn’t think that you vwould come back and-” The seadweller cut himself off and stared at the human in shock. “You came back.”

“Yes, I did,” Kankri responded, remembering his reason for doing so. “We had this conversation last night, but, as you do not remember those events due to heavy intoxication, I will enlighten you on the topics that we discussed. I know about your brother and the deal that you made, as well as why you are so desperate to gain freedom from your form so as to be with him and help him with whatever it is he needs help with.”

Cronus paled. “I told you about Eridan.”

“You indeed did.” Kankri rose to his feet, gesturing for Cronus to do so as well. “It was the main focus of our discussion. You had passed out soon after, which is why you and I awoke where we did.”

“Vwhy did you come back?” Cronus asked, standing beside the human and looming over top of him with his greater height. “You didn’t havwe to come back. You had no reason to.”

“I actually did.” Kankri started to walk out of the room, Cronus following close behind on his shadow. Kankri made his way to the front entrance and led the other outside. He flinched at the sudden light, having not experienced a sunny day for some time now, bot due to his entrapment and the near constant storms that they had received lately. “I had every intention to leave the night prior, but I found-”

“Kankri?”

The pair froze at the sudden voice that had interrupted the ex-Little Red. Glancing up, they were met with the sight of a young woman on the other side of the gate, her hands wrapped tight around the bars as she stared at them with wide eyes. The light breeze ruffled her short locks of raven and caused her blue skirt to sway around her knees.

“Aranea?” Kankri whispered, still in a state of shock at her sudden arrival. Cronus broke out of the trance quicker, making his way over to the gate. While Aranea was obviously frightened by his appearance, she resisted the urge to flee or even flinch, choosing just to take step back and stare at his cautiously.

Cronus grasped the bars on one side of the gate. Using his strength, he forced the gate open. Once the entrance was open enough, he released his hold and leaned against the gate, leering at her. “Hello, toots. Are you a friend of my prisoner?”

“P-Prisoner?” Aranea repeated, eyes darting between Kankri and Cronus. “This is where he has been this whole time? Everyone was worried sick.”

“Vwell they can continue to be vworried,” Cronus cooed, “because he isn’t going anyvwhere. He trespassed onto my property and he is not allovwed to leavwe until I say so. He’s keeping my poor lonely soul company, ya knovw?”

“But you said-” Kankri started to say, moving towards the pair.

“Shut the fuck up,” Cronus groaned. “Do you evwer stop talking or do you just enjoy the sound of your vwoice too much?”

“Why are you saying these things?” Kankri whispered, stepping back from him.

“I’m pretty sure that I told you to shut your trap. Are you hard of hearing?” Cronus’ fist entangled itself in the front of Kankri’s sweater, lifting him off of his feet so that he was mere inches from Cronus’ scowling face. “Hovw about novw? Can you hear me novw?”

“Stop it!” Aranea hissed. “Put him down right now!”

“You don’t get to tell me vwhat to do, svweetcheeks.” Cronus’ eyes never left Kankri’s, even as he turned his conversation back to Aranea. “He is my prisoner and, as long as he is here, I can do vwhatevwer the fuck that I want to do to him.” Just to prove this point more, Cronus chose to shake Kankri back and forth.

“What can I do to make you let him go?” Aranea asked, her hands clenched in fist at her side.

Cronus’ smirk grew as he stopped shaking Kankri and locked eyes with him once again, having broken that contact when he had decided to roughen him up. “You can take his place.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” the seadweller responded. “I’vwe been getting bored of this prude, so vwhy don’t you take his place. I’ll only let him go if you agree to stay in his place.” Aranea scowled and thought it over. “Hurry up, toots. I don’t havwe all day and the offer just might expire.”

“Fine,” she hissed. “Let him go and I will stay.”

Cronus set Kankri back on his feet. “Good.” Taking hold of Kankri’s elbow, he pulled him towards the castle with Aranea following behind. Once inside, he shut the door and turned to them. “Hold on one second. Don’t evwen think about trying to run. You both vwon’t be able to get avway if you try.” With that, he left the room.

“Kankri,” Aranea whispered once the other man was gone. “I want you to go back to the village and tell them exactly where I am. Have them bring any available fighters. I’ll try to get that creature drunk or something to make him easier to defeat, so you need to get the others ready to go as soon as possible.”

Kankri tugged at the ends of his sleeves. “But I-”

“I’m back,” Cronus announced as he barged into the room. “Here.” He shoved Kankri’s worn, and rather unreadable by now, book into its rightful owner’s hands. “Novw it is like you vwere nevwer here. Door is that vway. Bye.”

Kankri glanced down at the book in his hands to Cronus. “I don’t-”

“Fucking leavwe already!” Cronus shouted, shoving him towards the door. “Don’t you see that I havwe more entertaining company to deal vwith? Go!”

Without another word or second glance towards either of them, Kankri left. He ran through the front door and over the lawn to the gate. He passed through the opening that remained and into the forest, holding his worn tome close to his chest.

_“Hello, ex-Red.”_


	11. We Didn't Kill You

The hair on the nape of Kankri’s neck stood on end at the voice. He halted in his run, digging his heels into the dirt. The alpha wolf laying in the path before him chuckled, not bothering to even rise as he watched him.

 _“So good to see you again,”_ he chuckled. _“What’s it been? Nearly a day?”_

Kankri’s eyes darted from side to side, searching for any sign of the rest of the pack hiding in the shrubbery.

 _“Don’t be like that.”_ The wolf pawed at the ground, as if the whole endeavor bored him. _“You should be thanking me right now. I mean, I did just grant you your freedom.”_

“Excuse me?” Kankri caught the sight of a dark blur to his right, moving behind him while still remaining out of sight.

 _“You don’t think that Beauty found her way to the beast on her own, did you?”_ The wolf stood up finally, though he made no motion to lunge at Kankri. _“I brought her here. I knew that you would leave if given the right nudge and that creature couldn’t have reacted any better.”_

“Aranea knows that I was there,” Kankri stated. “She knows that I was on my way back to the village. She, and everyone who she will tell later, will know that it was you who killed me if I don’t show up.”

 _“But we didn’t kill you,”_ the alpha cooed. _“We saw that creature follow you and rip you apart, but were unable to stop him. He was too strong for us, but the villagers… I think they might have a chance to get revenge on him.”_

Kankri bit his lower lip and held his book closer to his chest, trying to muffle his racing heart. “Aranea is with him.”

A sleek wolf crawled out of a nearby bush, bringing its slighter form towards its leader. _“Has the girl locked herself away from the beast?”_

The wolf barked something in reply.

_“Has he started drinking?”_

The wolf repeated its previous gesture.

 _“Seems like the girl won’t see the beast,”_ the alpha growled, _“and the beast won’t even remember if he did or didn’t come after you. After he is dead, my pack will be free of all blame. We might even get rewarded for bringing the killer to ‘justice’.”_

Kankri said nothing in response.

 _“There is only one thing left to do, ex-Red.”_ The alpha lowered his head and growled. _“Kill him.”_

The woods erupted into low growls and wolf-like cackling as the sleek forms of his hunters crept out of the shadows. Heads hung low and teeth bared, they crept closer, circling the human. Kankri’s eyes darted back and forth, trying to find an opening so as to escape.

He found none.

Kankri hugged the book close to his form and squeezed his eyes shut tightly, preparing himself for the strike that was coming next.

A rumble deep in the forest cause everyone on the path to freeze. Kankri’s eyes snapped open at the sound of trees tumbling and something large crashing down. A small portion of the wolves, who had their back turned to the sudden sound, turned their heads as their instinct told them to find the source, even though it was too far away for anyone to see what it was.

Not wanting to let this opportunity pass, especially since it might possibly be his last chance to get out of this alive, Kankri dashed towards the distracted wolves, leaping over their heads before they even realized what was going on. By the time that they did, he was already passing through the thicket to the side of the path.

Kankri heard the alpha barking something at his pack, but paid it no mind as he pushed himself onward. He passed between trees with little room between, hoping that it would help slow down his pursuers.

It didn’t help.

The wolves were upon him in just a matter of minutes, drawing closer with each passing second. Having no idea where he was, or where he was going, Kankri stopped his pace and wrapped an arm around a low-hanging branch, pulling himself up.

Sharp pain erupted from his left ankle as teeth sunk in, piercing through his worn leather. The wolf tugged on his limb, trying to rip him from the tree’s grasp as the rest of the pack attempt to find their own limb to take hold of to help in this endeavor.

Kankri brought his other foot up and slammed it into the wolf’s snout, biting hard on his bottom lip as the teeth tore at his foot as his boot slipped off, the wolf’s jaws going with it. With a grunt, the human swung himself up onto the branch fully, barely missing the snapping jaws of the wolves below as he climbed as high as he could before the branches grew too thin and weak to possibly hold him. He watched the pack below bark at him and their brethren, scratching at the bark of the tree in a fruitless attempt to get to him.

After seeing that they had no hope of reaching him the moment, the pack growled at one another until they split up, half wandering off into the forest while the others sat down along the roots of his tree-prison. Every time that he adjusted himself, the wolves would glance up at him, hoping to see him climbing down so as to be within their reach again.

Kankri attempted to catch his breath, running a hand through his dark locks. “I’m sorry, Karkat,” he muttered. “It looks like I’m not making it back home today either.” He glanced down at the book in his hands, mildly surprised that he was still holding it.

A slip of paper poked out from the pages, catching his attention. He opened the book slowly, making sure nothing fell out due to the poor condition it was in at the moment.

 

_im sory for al i did. im glad that i met you but im sorry i hurt you. go bak to youre brother and be happy._

_please tak care of my brother for me. dont let him novw abot me but please help him. if i cant be vwith him i hop you vwil be._

_forget abot me._

_thanks for evwerythin._

_cronus._

 

Kankri closed the book, not uttering a sound as he rested his head against the trunk of the tree behind him and let a single tear streak down his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rumbling in the forest that distracted the wolves enough for Kankri to get away is an event that will take place in the Rapunzel talestuck that I will write eventually.   
> This story is close to being over. I would say that there is only 3-4 chapters left.


	12. Kill the Beast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that it took so long for me to get a chapter out, but I have had no free time to do anything for the last few weeks. I should, hopefully, be back on a more regular schedule for updating now. Thank you everyone for your patience. You guys are the best. <3

Cronus wasn’t sure where he was when he first awoke. His head throbbed, reminding him of his alcohol consumption after Kankri had left and the girl had locked herself away. He groaned, covering his eyes to block out the bright sunlight as he sat up, ignoring the grass stains that were forming on his once-white shirt.

Glancing up, he was met with the sight of blades and fire.

“Vwha…”

“Beast,” one of the humans before him called out, “I am going to kill you for what you did, you son of a bitch!”

A handful of the humans that made up the mob pushed at the rusty gate, opening up the path to Cronus. The one shouting at him had his hands wrapped around a pair of sickles so tightly that his knuckles were ghostly white. A blonde, nearly white, haired boy stood in front of him, sword in hand as he glared at Cronus from behind his shades.

Heart thudding in his chest, Cronus’ eyes scanned the crowd. He let out a breath of relief at the fact that his brother’s face was not among the mob. “Vwhat are you doing here? You are not vwelcome on my property and I vwill force you off if I havwe to.”

“I am going to fucking kill you!” the sickle-wielding boy shouted as tears streamed down his face. “I am going to kill you for what you did to my brother, you bastard!”

Cronus took notice of the boy’s black locks and familiar features and resisted the urge to step back from the gate as the crowd got the gate to open enough for them to flood into his yard. They formed a circle around the seadweller. “I don’t knovw vwhat the fuck you are talking about, but this is your last chance to leavwe before I-”

“You killed him!” Cronus froze cat the words. “You held him prisoner here and then ripped him apart when he tried to leave!”

Cronus shook his heads, eyes wide. “N-No. I vwouldnt havwe… I didn’t!”

“Don’t bother denying it,” the boy with the sword said. “We have witnesses that saw you stalk and slaughter him.”

“Dave,” another blonde warned.

“It needed to be said, Bro.”

Cronus shook his head, ignoring the pain that came from his sharp teeth penetrating his tongue as he bit down in shock. He dug his claws into his pants, cutting into his thighs. “You havwe it vwrong. I didn’t… I couldn’t… not to Kankri. I vwouldn’t.”

“ _Do not listen to the creature_.” A wolf strode forward, a wolfman with sewn lips standing not far behind him. “ _I saw him with my own eyes; a drunken mess of rage that killed the boy. He was too much for me to stop. Too much for me to stop.”_

“I didn’t kill him!” Cronus shouted. “I couldn’t havwe… I mean…” He thought back, or at least tried to, but everything after his fourth drink was a blur that fell into darkness. “I… I don’t think I…”

An image of Kankri flashed through his mind, staring up at him with wide eyes full of confusion, fear, and a hint of some other unnamed emotion. Cronus’ stomach twisted and his knees quivered. He had done many stupid things in his life, especially since he had come onto the land and found liquor, but he had never done something like this. He knew that he could have his violent tendencies while under the influence, if the broken objects and dented walls were anything to go by, but murder… slaughter? No. No, he would never. Not to Kankri… not…

Cronus fell to his knees and bowed his head. He stared down at his hands and imagined them doing the unspeakable. It took only a few seconds for the thoughts to become too much for him and he shut his eyes tight in the hopes of blocking it out.

_If Kankri didn’t’ have the right to live, then neither should he._

That was the last thought that ran through his mind before he heard the pounding of the alpha wolf’s paws against the ground and felt warm blood splatter across his face.


	13. Poor Unfortunate Soul

Kankri could hear the wolves pacing impatiently beneath him, occasionally hearing the sound one or two scratching at the base in an attempt to climb up to him. the human didn’t have to worry about them getting up to his branch, seeing as all of the wolves’ tries had proved to be utterly fruitless. His tears had long since dried up, but the emotions raging within himself that had brought them in the first place were still strong.

He ran his fingers gently along the worn cover of his book, tracing the bits of leather pealing back and disrupting the title. There was another howl beneath him as the wolves began circling the tree once more, but he paid them no mind. Like stated earlier, nothing they could do would bring him down or allow them up to him. All they could do was wait, just like all he could do was hold on to both the tree and himself.

The din of the bustling wolves bellow ceased in an instant as a rustling grew in the nearby bushes. The wolves dropped low to the ground, creeping towards the bush silently. The largest of the wolves snapped their jaws at the heels of the other pack members, making them halt in their pursuit. They growled something at them before continuing on, leaving just a few hungry wolves behind to watch Kankri’s tree, even though the others were not far from the base of it. The stalking wolves grew closer to the shifting bushes, their hungry eyes locked onto what Kankri assumed must be some poor rabbit or squirrel, or some other sort of small animal.

Kankri dug his fingers into his dark locks, tugging on them relentlessly as Cronus’, possibly, final words to him rung over and over again in his mind. Even though they were in written form and the words hadn’t been uttered by the seadweller once, Kankri could still imagine his voice clearly in his head as if he were right there, reading out the note to him. The more he thought about his past host, the more he wondered whether it was too late by now or not. Was he already dead? Was he chased away? Was Eridan part of the mob, supposing that the village did form a mob in order to defeat the “great evil” that was Cronus?

Could he even do anything to save him if he tried?

Kankri didn’t want to think about it, but the thoughts would not leave him be. He could just imagine the scene now; Cronus curled up on the ground in a pool of his own blood, eyes dull and lifeless. Cronus would fade away, his final thoughts being composed of ill placed guilt due to his belief that, by his hands, Kankri had met his brutal end. Kankri shook his head, but it did not rid him of the thoughts. They continued to haunt him over and over again, urging him to do something other than sit there, thought he had no idea as to what else he could possibly do besides jump down to his doom.

He could just sit there and do nothing though, especially if he was going to die in the end either way.

Bracing a hand on the trunk of the tree, Kankri pushed himself up and onto his feet, taking a few seconds to gather his courage and find his balance. His heart thudded in his chest at the thought of what he was prepared to do, but his heart felt like it was going to stop altogether if he did nothing for Cronus. With that last thought, he rushed forward and took the leap.

He didn’t realize that he was holding his breath until his body made contact with the next tree. He wrapped his arms around the trunk as best as he could, digging his short nails in as he tried to gain his balance.

His hope that the wolves below would not notice his sudden relocation proved to be fruitless as their heads shot up at the sound of rustling leaves and shifting branches. Taking advantage of their shock, and the fact that half were still a little further on and hadn’t noticed quite as quickly as the others, Kankri took in another deep breath of air before leaping to the next tree.

The wolves didn’t stay still for long. With a howl, the section waiting at the base of Kankri’s previous tree took pursuit as the rest abandoned their possible meal to follow suite.

Kankri wasn’t quite sure where he was going, since he didn’t even remember which direction he had come from in the first place, but he didn’t have time to stop and gather his thoughts on the matter. From one branch to the next he flew, ignoring the burning sensation in his hands as the bark scrapped them raw. His left ankle throbbed and the pain that surged from it made him bite down on his lower lip hard. It grew to a point where he felt like his leg was going to collapse each time he pushed off and landed.

His world shifted as he landed on the next branch. With his heart pounding in his ears, Kankri wasn’t able to even hear the branch collapsing under his weight, let alone try to catch himself. He managed to turn his head in time to save his nose from breaking as he tumbled forward into the trunk before falling down to the forest floor. Smaller branches and twigs bashed into him during his fall, tearing at his skin and clothes before depositing him roughly onto the exposed roots of the tree that failed him.

The human groaned and tried to push himself back onto his feet again, ignoring the pain that filled his entire form. He placed a hand on a nearby tree to help steady him as a growl, growing in intensity, erupted from behind him. Kankri spun on his heel, bringing his book up as sharply as he could in his current state. The tome crashed into the side of the lunging wolf’s head, knocking it to the side as it snapped its jaws at him. Pages circled them like falling snow as the faithful weapon exploded, the spine not able to take this final act of abuse. Kankri fell back, tripping over an exposed root as the rest of the pack caught up with him.

“No!” Kankri lifted his arms to try to cover his vitals as a handful of wolves leapt towards him, jaws open wide and sharp fangs poised to sink in deep and tear.

“ _Poor unfortunate soul,_ ” an unfamiliar woman’s voice cooed, “ _with no one else to turn to._ ”

Kankri lowered his arm hesitantly, surprised when he did not feel his body being taken apart. Glancing up with wide eyes, he was met with the sight of a rather busty woman with flowing black hair. With her grey skin, tall horns, and earfins lazily flapping against her dark locks, Kankri could only assume that this was another seadweller. She stood upon two legs, just as Cronus did, and had her back to him as she smirked at the frozen wolves. 

She turned her sharp magenta eyes onto him, making his heart skip a beat. "But I can help you," she stated smoothely. "It's what I live for. It's what I do. So, pet," she placed the tip of her trident under his chin, "what do I have to do to make your wish come true?"


	14. With Just A Little More Time

Kankri stared up at the woman with wide eyes, not quite sure whether he should be praising her arrival or wishing that the wolves had gotten to him sooner. A tongue poked out between her plush lips, trailing across the piercing fangs as shivers ran up the human’s spine at the sight.

“There is no need to look at me like that, little pet,” the woman cooed, absentmindedly twirling her trident between her fingers. “I don’t bite… much.” She lifted her hand delicately to her mouth, giggling to herself. “So sorry, dearie, but I couldn’t help making that joke. From where I’m from, people already know that I bite, so there is really no point in joking about it. Ah! I haven’t stood on dry land in years! Gog, do I hate it.”

A lump formed in the back of Kankri’s throat, making it hard to swallow as he continued to tremble violently. He wanted to back away. He wanted to get away from this person even if he had to crawl to do so, but he found that he had no strength in his limbs. The woman’s smirk grew at the sight. She leaned over and brushed the tips of her fingers along his smooth cheek, lightly scratching him with her black claws.

“Don’t be so tense,” she whispered, her cold breath causing him to flinch as it caressed his face. “I am here to help you. I mean… I did just save you from those wolves, didn’t I?” Her smile dropped at Kankri’s silence. “Of course, I could retract that kindness if you are going to be so ungrateful. They do look rather hungry and I bet these little pups would treat their wish granter right, don’t you think?” She held out her arm to the frozen wolf. “Shall we see?”

Jaws snapped in front of his face as the closest wolf became animated for a split second. Kankri fell back in shock, his head coming in contact with the forest floor as the woman’s laughter resonated through the trees.

“Now why don’t you show some gratitude,” she shifted her weight and popped her hip out, “because I don’t like your odds if I decide to break my spell again… but maybe you would like to give it a try anyway?”

Kankri shook his head. “No!” he shouted, sitting back up quickly. “Thank you! Thank you so much for saving me! Thank you.”

“There you go.” She patted him on the head. “Now onto the real reason that I am here; to help such a poor unfortunate soul, such as you.”

“A-Are you-” Kankri coughed, trying to lower his pitch to its proper range, “are you the one who… who gave Cronus his legs and made that deal with him?”

The woman hummed thoughtfully. “I’m glad that you have heard of me. That makes this next part much easier.” She reached into her unruly mass of dark locks, pulling out a large, golden hourglass that Kankri was certain could not have possibly been held in her hair. “This is how this is going to work. I am going to heal your ankle enough for you to run, because you are going to need it. I will freeze time for you for until the sand runs out in this hourglass. If you hurry, you might be able to make it in time to save the betrayer of the ocean. Either that, or you could just go home and save yourself from all of this mess, just a suggestion.”

“W-Why?” Kankri asked before he could stop himself.

The smile remained on her face, but the woman’s eyes got colder. “Didn’t we just go through how you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. I’m sure that the wolves would gladly take the deal in a heartbeat. Hell, they might give me your heart as an added bonus in thanks.”

“I’m sorry,” the human apologized quickly. “I am just… I want to know why… someone like me was chosen for this… great honor.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from a landdweller,” she cooed sweetly. “Normally I wouldn’t even think of helping out someone of your filthy race, but you have been taking care of an old pet project of mine. I grew bored of him after a month of him wallowing away in that castle I made for him, but someone who would willingly spend time with that grease-ball can certainly hold my attention for a bit, I would assume.” She clicked her tongue. “Let me try to sum this up in a way your human brain can understand. I am bored and you hold the potential of some entertainment. Understand.”

Kankri bit his tongue and nodded his head.

“Good.” The woman reached down and grasped Kankri’s injured ankle, causing him to flinch in pain. “Now about the payment for this… hmmmm… I suppose just your name will do, since this is mostly for my own entertainment anyway. Just give me your name, human. I’ll even tell you mine, as that is only proper, right?” She held out her free hand, a faintly glowing scroll hovering above her palm. “I am the Condesce. Shall you give me your name now and agree to the deal?”

Kankri bit his lower lip. “My n-name,” he stuttered, “is Kankri.” As he spoke his title, it spelled itself in gold print on the floating parchment.

Condesce backed away from him, releasing her grip on his healed ankle. “Well, Kankri,” the scroll vanished, “you better start running.” She tipped the hourglass over.

Kankri, suddenly finding his limbs much easier to move, scrambled to his feet. Without sparing Condesce a second glance, he raced through the trees and shrubbery, ignoring the scrapes and scratches that he collected on the way. He forced his legs to go faster and faster, wanting to both reach Cronus in time and get away from the woman as soon as possible. His eyes darted upwards every few steps, searching the canopy for a sign of the castle through the break in the tree branches.

He wasn’t sure how long he was running, or even if he could quantify his dash with time when the moments were frozen, but everything rushed by in a flash as the greenery disappeared and were replaced with iron, stone, and angry people. Kankri’s heart pounded in his chest as he took in the still scene before him, barely paying even his scowling brother any mind as his eyes were quickly drawn to the center of the mob. Shoving past some white haired boy with shades, Kankri through himself to his knees in front of Cronus without a second thought, spreading his arms out wide.

He felt sharp teeth dig into the crook of his neck as time began moving once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it took me so long to get this updated. Things have been crazy the last month with school coming up soon. Thank you everyone for being so patient.


	15. Kankri's Alive?

Cronus’s eyes snapped open as a limp form slumped over him, hooking their chin on his tense shoulder as a warm liquid soaked into his shirt. The world fell into silence as his sight was filled with dark locks. Even the distant songbirds of the forest faded away until all he could hear were the deep gasps for air in his ear.

“K-” Cronus stuttered, leaning his head back in order to take in the form draping over him, “K-Kankri?”

Kankri didn’t respond, aside from continuing his irregular breathing. The wolf latched to his shoulder, at the sudden realization at who it was that he was sinking his teeth into, swiftly withdrew and backed away cautiously, eyes darting from side to side.

“Kankri!” Placing one hand at the nape of the neck, being mindful of the wound, while the other one cupped his blood splattered cheek, Cronus pulled the other male back from him. “Oh Gog, Kankri! You’re bleeding. Oh Gog!”

“C-Cronus…” Kankri’s eyes fluttered open. His lips tilted upwards just slightly. “I’m… I’m glad that you… you are… okay…”

Cronus rubbed the human’s cheek with his thumb, smearing the blood that remained there. “For once in your life, please don’t talk.”

“Kankri?” The sickles fell from the boy’s trembling fingers as he took a step closer. “You’re… You’re alive…”

“Kar…kat…” Kankri muttered into Cronus’s shirt, weakly turning his head to look back at his brother.

“You’re alive!” Karkat flung himself towards the pair, wrapping his arms tightly around Kankri’s thin waist and squeezing to a point of pain, though Kankri couldn’t find the strength, nor the will, to tell him so. Karkat sobbed into his brother’s back briefly before releasing his hold and pulling away. “You son of a bitch!” he shouted, punching him in the arm. “Do you have any idea how worried I was, you actual sack of shit? First the attack on the village and then you just disappeared for months without any word, making me think that you were killed in it, only to find out that you were being held hostage by douchefins here and that he sl-slaughtered you and… and…”

Dave shealthed his sword carefully before kneeling beside Karkat. He placed his arm loosely around his neck and clicked his tongue. It was hard to tell with the dark shades, but Cronus had a feeling that his eyes were trained on him and had been since the beginning of this.

Karkat shoved the arm away from his after leaning into it for a few short seconds. “Fuck!” he shouted. “You’re bleeding!” He tore off his grey cloak and pressed it to the wound, attempting to stop the bleeding. “Fuck. Fuck. _Fuck_.”

“Language,” Kankri muttered, his lips quirking up into a slight smile.

“Fuck you.”

“I’m going to get red on your cloak.”

“I don’t care,” Karkat hissed, “now shut the fuck up already.” He glanced back at the others. “Can we get some help here or are you shitsponges just going to watch? Get the fucking princess here or something!”

Kankri’s eyelids started to droop as they grew heavier and heavier with every slow blink. He could barely feel the hand running up and down his back in a soothing manner. “You’re going be alright, Kanny,” Cronus whispered. “They are going to fix you up.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything vwrong,” the seadweller insisted. “I’m sorry. I am so sorry. I’m so sorry that I took you and held you here against your vwill. I’m sorry that I kept you from your brother and your vwillage. I’m sorry that I let you go and let you get hurt because of me. Kanny, I’m-”

Cronus was cut off as a pair of soft lips brushed against his cheek. He froze, unsure if he had imagined the feeling or not.

“C-Cronus,” Kankri wasn’t sure that the other could even hear him now that his voice had become so soft and strained, “I don’t… I don’t hate you…”

“Kankri?” someone shouted, though Kankri wasn’t sure exactly who. The pain, which had turned numb as time passed, faded away completely, along with the hands on his body, the sun on his face, and the man in his sight.

Everything vanished as he fell into darkness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I finally was able to write.  
> This story is almost over. The next chapter will be the epilogue. After I finish this, I am going to really focus on Karkat's story, because I haven't updated that in forever.   
> Thank you everyone who patiently waited for this update.


	16. How Is He?... What?

Kankri wasn’t sure what it was that stirred him into consciousness first; the gentle hand running through his sweat-soaked bangs or the sound of voices nearby, consistently raising in pitch as the owners continued on with their conversation. It took a few attempts to get his eyes to open, and even more tries to manage to even see anything other than shifting blurs of color.

“Kanny?” a soft voice whispered down to him, the hand upon his head freezing. “How are you feeling? Aside from the obvious, of course.”

“Am I dead?” he asked, only half-jokingly.

Porrim smiled as her hand resumed its previous actions. “It was a real close call,” she responded, “but we managed to get Feferi here in time to heal you.” She suddenly tugged lightly on a lock of his dark hair. “Do not make this a habit of yours, alright Kanny? It was bad enough that you went missing for so long, but then we were told that you were killed in cold blood by a monster in the woods only to find you alive, just to have you throw yourself into death’s embrace to save the monster that we thought had killed you, but had really just kept you hostage here for months. I know that we have made jokes before that I am a vampire, but if you keep this record up, my heart really is going to stop one of these days.”

“I’m sorry.” Kankri took a deep breath in, relaxing into her touch for a few seconds before his eyes snapped open once more. “Cronus! Where is Cronus? Please tell me that you have not hurt him in any way. I know that he looks… but he is not as bad as he seems.”

“He kidnapped you.”

“Yes, but-”

“He held you against your will.”

“That may be, but-”

“He kept you from us, leading us all to believe that you were dead for months.”

“I would appreciate it if you would stop interrupting me-”

“He tried to get you to have sex with him in order to break his curse, without a care about your thoughts on the matter.”

“That’s not-” Kankri cut himself off. “How do you know about that?”

Porrim gestured to the side with her head, black lips pulled down in a tight frown. “He explained it to us, answering every question that we had for him, just so we would allow him to see you to make sure that you were as alright as we had been telling him.”

Kankri’s eyes followed the direction in which she had gestured, soon spotting the small crowd that stood just outside of the room. Cronus’s ear fins were pressed tight to his head and his eyebrows were knit as he stared down at Kanaya with an intensity unlike any that Kankri had ever seen before. Both she and Feferi seemed nervous, based on how the princess couldn’t look the seadweller in the eye and Kanaya was just barely managing to keep it herself.

“Don’t be too hard on him,” Kankri said. “While I can’t say that I agree with his methods, he did act as a man in desperation that fell to his inner demons.”

“Yes, yes.” Porrim rolled her eyes. “We can all seen that he is cursed. That was the one thing that he would not tell us about. Frankly, we would never have even bothered to listen to him if it wasn’t for the fact that Feferi recognized him.”

“Hmmm,” Kankri hummed. He glanced back up at Porrim to see her staring curiously at him. “What is it?”

“You are oddly quiet.” The unspoken “for once” hung in the air.

“I did almost die.”

“Don’t try to blame it all on that, Kanny,” Porrim snorted. “We both know that not even death could still your tongue.” She tilted her head and gazed out at the company beyond the doorway. “I never thought that I would see the day that you would find a romantic interest with anyone, let alone someone like him.”

Kankri glared at her. “I do not have-”

“You kissed him in front of all of us.”

The ex-red looked horrified. “I did what?!”

Porrim chuckled. “You did,” she stated, enjoying his wide eyed expression, “on the cheek.”

His glare intensified. “I am feeling very triggered by you at the current moment. I cannot believe that you, knowing of my state of health, would decide to make a joke as intense and disarming as-”

“Now there is the Kanny that I expected to hear from the beginning.” Porrim’s smirk grew. “It is a shame that he was too busy gazing longingly to let me know that he was truly alright in the only way that I know he possibly could.”

“I’m triggered.”

“I’m happy to hear that.”

Kankri rolled his eyes at her. “May you help me to my feet, please? I think that I should see to Cronus properly before he starts a fight with someone.”

“I am sure that is the reason you want to see him.” Porrim helped him up, nevertheless. Her grip tightened on his waist as he swayed on his feet, a wave of dizziness from the sudden movement rushing over him. “You alright?”

“Yes,” Kankri mumbled, ignoring the fact that his distinct height disadvantage placed his face near a specific area on her body. “It has passed. Just assist me in reaching the doorway, please.”

The walk was slow, more so than it needed to be due to Porrim’s worrying, but they made it to the doorway without another incident. As they drew near, the voices of the company became more clear and understandable.

“-and then, after I woke up, I wasn’t sure if… if I had just imagined it or not. I mean, I was bleeding out at the time and everything was happening so fast that I wasn’t sure if anything I saw was real.” Kanaya shifted her weight nervously as she fought to keep eye contact with the man before her – the man that was quickly gaining color in his face. Try as she might, the young lady could not help but let the intimidation show on her face. “Either way… he was… Eridan was gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sad to see this story coming to an end. At least I won't be away from these characters for too long. I will be focusing my attention on the Karkat story now and I will also be starting another Talestuck story. The next one will either be one focusing on Eridan (pre-missing) or a Horrus/Rufioh tale. Feel free to tell me if you want one of them in specific first, because, as it stands now, I am not sure which one I want to tackle next.  
> And don't worry. This is not the end of Kronkri. While this is the end of their main story, I am still not done with them (especially since Cronus is still under his spell and Kankri has yet to admit his feelings straightforward).


End file.
